Last night's 4.3 magnitude earthquake eight kilometres off Sidney's coast is a great reminder of the importance of being prepared.

The original edition of this news release, published Dec. 1, 2015, can be found here: http://www.icbc.com/about-icbc/newsroom/Pages/2015-Dec1.aspx

The traditional territory of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation can be found on the west coast of central Vancouver Island and includes the town of Tofino. It has natural boundaries of mountains and ocean, and is home to about 1,000 members. The territory is also a perfect location for the development of small, clean energy projects.

The first homes have been built, construction has started on others, and a pioneering clean energy project designed to harness ocean thermal energy is taking shape in a new residential development known as Spirit Bay, near Sooke.

In the 1990’s, the Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB) began an aggressive program of economic development resulting in 90% band employment.

At age 72, some might assume Abbotsford resident Jerry Brown is embracing retirement – however, they’d be wrong. Rather than hitting the golf links, Jerry is happily immersed in his busy financial career while also spending quality time with his wife, his children and his grandchildren, all thanks to the kidney transplant he received 17 years ago.

In 2005 at age 29, Jillianne Code was excitedly anticipating many new adventures. She was in the process of moving to British Columbia from Alberta, looking forward to tackling a PhD in educational psychology at Simon Fraser University, and getting married to the man of her dreams. However, the fast-paced trajectory of her busy life came to a crashing halt when she was diagnosed with congestive heart failure, likely caused by a virus that attacked her vital organ.

Tony Maidment knows better than anyone that life is short and precious moments are fleeting. The 47-year-old married father of two needs a liver transplant – he’s already been on the organ transplant wait list for four years and has no idea if and when a donor liver will ever materialize.

December is a fun, festive time for many. It’s also a great time to reiterate the importance of staying safe, consuming liquor responsibly, and for many hospitality and public safety workers it also means being prepared for tough liquor related situations – and having the tools to effectively deal with them.